The Dark Blue Waters of Acheron
by Lamia of the Dark
Summary: Drabble collection. When Regulus is born, Sirius is jealous of the new baby. / The beginning of the breakdown of the mother/child relationship between Sirius and Walburga. (rated T for a bit of swearing) NOW COMPLETE.
1. Ugly

**DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.**

~ The Dark Blue Waters of Acheron ~

"I don't _want_ a little brother!" two-year-old Sirius Black cries, running to hide behind the living-room couch so he can't be forced to acknowledge the infant cradled in his mother's arms.

Orion starts to scold his son, but is interrupted by an unexpected sound - Walburga's laughter.

"Wally...? What's so funny?" he says, nonplussed.

Holding baby Regulus against her shoulder with one arm, Walburga wipes tears of mirth from her face.

"Oh, sweet Merlin," she gasps out between giggles. "That's the same thing Lucretia said about _you_ when you were born!"

"She did?" Orion asks in surprise. He has been close to his sister for as long as he can remember, so this is news to him.

"Oh, has no one ever told you the story?" Walburga says. "She cried so much, it was absolutely ridiculous! In fact..." She pauses and shoots her husband a sly look. "I took the opportunity to steal one of her toy unicorns and she never noticed it was missing."

"You didn't!"

"I most certainly did, and I still have it somewhere."

Orion chuckles. "You're terrible."

Sirius's curiosity finally gets the better of him and he creeps out from his hiding place to peek at the baby. Seeing that his parents have ceased talking to each other and are now looking at him, Sirius scowls and pronounces, "Ugly!" He then scrambles behind the couch once more.

~ end ~

**A/N: Acheron is one of the five rivers of the underworld from Greek mythology; it is the River of Woe.**

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	2. Kidnap Me

**A/N: I've decided to make this a drabble collection, because who doesn't love Black family fluff? ****(Yes, I'm still working on Black Sick Spider. And no, this collection doesn't take place in the BSS storyline.)**

~ The Dark Blue Waters of Acheron ~

"Aunt Luke!" two-year-old Sirius shouts, attaching himself to Lucretia's leg as she is about to leave.

"Finally decided to come out and say hi to your favorite aunt, you little brat?" Lucretia says.

"I wasn't hiding from _you_, I was just hiding," Sirius replies, looking up at her with an expression that she can't quite place. "I go home with you now, and you can be my mama."

"I don't know about that," Lucretia says, frowning, wondering why the child has suddenly decided he needs a new mother. "Don't you think your parents would miss you?"

Sirius shakes his head. "They don't want me anymore. They got a new son."

_Hmm, so that's what this is about_. Lucretia raises her voice so that her brother and sister-in-law will hear her in the next room. "I'm leaving now, and I'm kidnapping Sirius!"

"Ha ha, very funny!" Orion calls back, thinking his sister is merely joking.

Sirius's upper lip trembles as he struggles not to burst into tears.

"I'm not joking," Lucretia says, and there is a hard edge to her voice that brings her brother running.

"You're not taking him anywhere," Orion growls, glaring at his sister as he sweeps the little boy up into his arms.

Before Lucretia has a chance to explain, her nephew saves her the trouble.

"Aunt Luke, kidnap me _quietly_ next time!"

~ end ~

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	3. Want to Know a Secret?

~ The Dark Blue Waters of Acheron ~

Three-year-old Sirius climbs into his mother's lap and whispers, "Mama, want to know a secret?"

Walburga is not certain that she wants to know what the hellraiser has gotten up to this time, but she answers in as sweet a voice as she can manage, "What secret, my dear?"

"Aunt Luke knows you took her unicorn doll when you were little."

Sirius grins up at her, looking very pleased with himself for divulging this bit of information.

"How do you know that?" Walburga asks, frowning.

"She told me! She said she felt sorry for you 'cause you had TWO little brothers. But _shhh_, it's a secret so don't tell her I told you."

~ end ~

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	4. Dumb

~ The Dark Blue Waters of Acheron ~

"Hey, your kid's pretty dumb," Cygnus says to his sister.

Walburga bristles. "How so?" she asks.

"He got me confused with Orion, was following me around and calling me Daddy. I mean... shit, we don't look _that_ much alike."

_Oh, not this again. I thought Sirius was finished with that nonsense after he couldn't convince Lucretia to take him. _"My son is not _stupid_; he is merely going through a phase," she explains.

"A phase...?" Cygnus repeats, unconvinced.

"Yes, one where he likes to pretend that other people are his parents..."

"Oh, I get it now," Cygnus says, smirking. "He wants new parents because you're a shitty mother."

~ end ~

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	5. Brothers vs Sisters

~ The Dark Blue Waters of Acheron ~

"Andi, do you want a little brother?" three-year-old Sirius asks as he snuggles up to his cousin.

Andromeda, who is old enough to notice and somewhat understand the tension between her parents, murmurs, "That would be nice."

"Okay," Sirius says. "I'll go home with you and you can be my sister, and that will be fun, right?"

"I don't think-" Andromeda starts, but remembering that the person she is talking to is still a baby (and she is practically grown up, being nine), she changes tactics and says, "That means Bella and Cissy would be your sisters too, you know."

Sirius's face scrunches into an expression of distaste. He likes Andromeda, but her sisters are mean. He would rather have a stinky little brother who still poops his pants than two mean older sisters.

"Nevermind," he says.

~ end ~

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	6. The Breaking Bond

~ The Dark Blue Waters of Acheron ~

"Mama," Sirius whines, attaching himself to his mother's skirt. "When are they going home?"

"Oh, you want them to leave? I thought you wanted Cygnus to be your new father," Walburga says, still peeved over her brother's earlier insult.

"I got him confused with Daddy because they look the same. I don't like him. He's mean," Sirius explains, frowning up at his mother. "Bella's mean too, and Narcissa pulled my hair."

When Walburga does not immediately reply, her son clings to her harder. She barely has time to register his panic-stricken expression before he starts babbling in terror.

"You wouldn't let him take me, would you, Mama? Don't you love me anymore, Mama?"

As he begins to cry, Walburga leans down and scoops the hysterical child into her arms.

"Hush, Sirius, shh, of course I love you."

But she doesn't say it convincingly enough for him to believe her.

~ end ~

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	7. Mother

~ The Dark Blue Waters of Acheron ~

Weddings are boring. Four-year-old Sirius fidgets until Walburga hisses at him, "Sirius, sit still!"

"Yes, Mother," the child replies in a monotone, tensing as if anticipating a punishment.

Orion, hoping to keep his elder son from making a scene, takes the stuffed toy dragon from Regulus - who is sleeping on his lap - and pushes it into Sirius's arms.

"Here, play with this and stay quiet," Orion whispers.

As the wedding music begins to play, Sirius strokes the plush dragon absentmindedly.

Meanwhile, Walburga wonders when exactly it was in this past year that she stopped being _Mama_ in the eyes of her elder son and became _Mother_.

~ end ~

**A/N: And that concludes this collection.**

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


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